Swimming in unused beauty products that cost too much? Spending your shower time digging through bottles of products, many of which seem to do the same thing? Decide what you really need, and next time you’re shopping, keep your list short!

Grocery shopping by ralphbijker on flickr

Beauty product aisles baffle me. I turn one way to a wall of liquids that will make my hair shine; behind me are shelves of scented lotions. If I pause for a moment’s thought, a helpful salesclerk is at my side, praising the advantages of the more expensive brand.

Fellow advocates of sustainable living often recommend choosing personal care products with a simpler ingredient list. Many companies offer “natural” products. I could give you dozens of recipes to make your own shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotions.

At the end of the day, though, whether filled with name-brand, all-natural, or homemade products, a cluttered shower is neither visually appealing nor very efficient.

I asked other simple living and green living bloggers, “If you could have just 3 beauty or health products in your shower, what would remain?”, and compiled the overall results:

1. shampoo
2. soap
3. nothing!

I was surprised, but most people either already use only soap and shampoo (forgoing conditioner and shaving with either the soap or shampoo), or decided that once they got rid of a bunch of stuff, they really didn't need a 3rd item. I'll share about my own shower in a future post.

Popular brands include Korres, Burt's Bees, and your local Farmer's Market sellers!

...and you?

What about all the other stuff? Cremes, conditioners, gels, butters, salts, cleansers, and so on? Why do we have them; are they necessary? What are your 3-to-keep's?